The Ketchum keystone. [volume] (Ketchum, Idaho) 1885-1899, 1887-12-03
svPeas1Irlous MINERS.
San Francisco Post.

68u CL0uClSCO 1OSV.
speaking of superstitions," said
he Judge, I'VE used to have q queer
OF of them in the early days. Off
n the camps We were worse than
'ailors, and you know a sailor is as
ull of superstition as sheep is of
icks. It was a hardy miner who
would have started out ON a pros
,ecting tour a Friday. Some of
he boys laughed at the idea, but
hey observed it a. religiously as
he next one.
"'There amt nothin' in it, old
Shorty Forbes used to say, but
here must be. Their amt no use
) riskin yer luck, if you got any,
lEd any ways, Saturday is just as
good day to start as you could
ind
"Most of the boys had lucky
stones or something that answered
ior 'em. Generally they were med
lls or lockets they had brought
rom home. They were supposed
70 have in them some of the good
wishes of the folks they had left
behind. Sometimes it was a slug
hat had often turned the luck Of
The gaming table. Tom Harrity,
who usually went as Hairy Tom,
had an old battered $50 slug that
he used to tell wonderful lies about.
THERE MIGHT A BEEN soNETHIN
INIT"
Mused the judge. II don't know
Tom never lost it. He
never played it till he got dead
broke, but it always brought the
dust. He wouldn't have taken $500
for that slug. One day he paid it
out by mistake in settling up fol
an outfit, and by George, you ought
to have seen that camp hum when
he found it out. The fellow had
gone, and it took Tom half day
to find out which road he had taken
Well, he chased that fellow hall
way to Sacramento, but you bet ne
got him. He persuaded the fellow
to swap the lucky slug for two others
by sticking a six-shooter under hi:
nose. Twas a pretty good trade
for the fellow. too, let alone the six
shooter business, for the slul
mightn't have been go lucky will
him. Leastways l never heard o
it since Tom died. Still, you can
tell as to that.
"Thcre was a young fellow come
into the camp, and he was a fresh
one. The second night he was there
he stcered into the Bucking Tige
saloon and run up against the tige
itself. It took him about half al
hour to put 500 into the bank, ant
as that was his last cent, he looked
mighty pale about the gills. Ton
took in the situation and haule'
out his six.shooter and his slug
He tossed the slug on the table.
"'Play that, young fellow, h
said, AN if you lose it, curse you
I'll blow tho hull top of your hea'
Off"
"uE PLAYED IT AND WON
"Play it again. said Tom, low
ering the hammer to half-cock
the hull pile
"'Play it again, he ordered, whc'
the second trial resulted happily.
"It won again.
"'Onee more ordered Tom.
1T won for the fourth time.
"'Gimme that slug said Ton
Now git! And don't ye look s
another card again as long as J
live. Ye amt got any luck II
dropped the slug back into Ri
pocket and the young fellow le
the camp next morning.
81 remember another case whel
a superstition squared with II
facts.
ut Was at the old Toulume cam
when things had just begin to boon
A few rich strikes that some OF Il
lucky ones had made had encou
.ged the rest of us to hang on.
THE JUMPING JHHOsoPHAr CLAIM
Had got in some of the new-fanglt
powder and was blasting away +
all that was out. Most OF us locke
askance at the new powder, al
when Uncle Billy Grimes proph
sled that the camp would be blow
nm with the stuff or get poison'
with it's fumes, as his partner hi
At Red Gulch, we made the jun
inc Jehosophat boys move it out
harms way. So when a blast we
off one fine morning when nobot
was expecting it and laid out n
of the best men in the camp
were all able to say I told you s.
"A We rushed up to the claim.
1.-THE camp was intensely excite
for these were the FIRST deaths si',
we came in, not counting two slu'
robbers and a horse thief we n
hvrc for luck. We stood of
tle hit. for no one but the five DO
h.lf a dozen more to go off. b
we sailed in pretty soon and haul
ont what was left OF the ooys' a
= -. n sight to make you sc